Children living in feces and tied down inside New Hampshire apartment

MANCHESTER, N.H. — New Hampshire police found young children living in feces and one child was tied down.

“My kids mean everything to me, and I love them,” said Samantha Grenier, the wife of James Grenier, who was arrested for child endangerment. “I really don’t know much about the whole thing.”

She blamed her husband for conditions inside their apartment, which police called a “hell hole.”

Police said a 911 call from Samantha Grenier brought an officer to the apartment early Monday morning.

An officer said that as soon as the door was opened, they could “smell a horrendous odor coming from inside.”

The odor was from dog and human feces on the floor, along with rotting food and garbage throughout the apartment, investigators said.

Police say James Grenier left the couple’s 2-year-old daughter naked in her crib, shivering from the cold and smeared with feces.

Their 4-year-old son was in another bedroom, tied down to the top of a bunk bed with a makeshift harness made from a childproof lock, according to court documents. Police said the boy was also covered in feces and urine.

Grenier allegedly told police the feces were from his dog, and that he hadn’t cleaned it because he hated the dog and that his wife was supposed to be picking the mess up. He also told police he harnessed his son because his wife instructed him to, a claim Samantha Grenier denied Monday night.

“I would never tell anybody to tie anyone down,” she said. “My husband used the TV as a babysitter. So no, I would never do that to my child.”

The children were placed in the care of their grandparents, and the Department of Child and Family Services is investigating.

According to a sworn police affidavit, the suspect’s wife reportedly told authorities her husband threatened to kill himself, prompting her to call police.